Palo Alto Weekly

Sports - August 5, 2011

Stanford's Ogwumike sisters will be
hooping it up in China at the WUG

by Rick Eymer

Stanford's sibling duo of Nnemkadi and Chiney Ogwumike has been named to the 12-player 2011 USA Basketball World University Games Team roster, USA Basketball announced Wednesday. The team will participate in the event's tournament from Aug. 14-21 in Shenzhen, China.

The announcement marks the third time that Nnemkadi Ogwumike will represent the United States at a major international competition, having earned gold medals with the USA Basketball U18 National Team at the FIBA Americas Championship in 2008, and with the U19 National Team at the FIBA U19 World Championship in 2009.

Chiney Ogwumike will make her second international appearance for USA Basketball, having previously captured the gold medal with the U18 National Team at last summer's FIBA Americas Championship.

Nnemkadi and Chiney both enjoyed decorated seasons on The Farm in 2010-11.

Nnemkadi was named to the State Farm Coaches' All-America Team for the second straight year, as well as earning All-America nods from the Associated Press (Second Team), USBWA and John Wooden Award. She led the Pac-10 in scoring (17.5 ppg) and shooting (58.6 FG pct.) while grabbing 7.6 rebounds a game. She was also named Most Outstanding Player of both the Pac-10 Tournament and the Spokane Regional during the postseason.

Chiney made an impact on a national level as a freshman, averaging 11.7 points and 8.0 rebounds a game while shooting 57.4 percent from the field. She claimed the Pac-10 Freshman of the Year award as well as spots on the All-Pac-10 Team, Pac-10 All-Defensive Team and Pac-10 All-Freshman Team. In the postseason, Chiney was also named to both the Pac-10 All-Tournament and Spokane All-Regional Teams.

The duo will be looking to help lead the U.S. to a second straight gold medal at this year's World University Games. Two years ago, former Stanford stars Kayla Pedersen and Jeanette Pohlen were part of the gold medal-winning U.S. squad.

Men's basketball

Stanford will get an early start of the season as it packs its bags and heads to Spain for an 11-day trip early next month that will include games to be played against world-class competition in cities such as Alicante, Barcelona and Madrid.

Highlighting the tour are games against Real Madrid, which has won a record 30 Spanish League championships and eight Euroleague Championships, and powerhouse FC Barcelona Regal, which defeated the Los Angeles Lakers in an exhibition game last October. Making the contest even more memorable, FC Barcelona Regal will be playing its first-ever game against a college team.

Stanford's opponents for the Spain trip are members of the ACB League (or Liga ACB, The Asociacion de Clubs de Baloncesto), which is considered to be the top professional league in Europe and recognized by many as the best in the world after the NBA.

The Cardinal will depart for Spain on Saturday, Sept. 3, arriving in Madrid the following day. After a brief midweek stay in Alicante, the final five days of the tour will be spent in Barcelona before returning home on Wednesday, Sept. 14.

"We are extremely excited for the opportunity to play against elite international competition while enhancing the cultural experience of our student-athletes," said Stanford head coach Johnny Dawkins."This is the perfect time for our program to make a trip like this, considering the number of returning players on our roster. Playing teams such as Real Madrid and FC Barcelona is a once-in-a-lifetime experience and will only help our young players continue to grow."

The NCAA allows teams to travel overseas once every four years. Stanford most previously toured Italy in 2007, while visiting Australia and New Zealand in 2001.

Combined with several days of sightseeing along the way, this year's foreign tour represents a tremendous cultural experience for all involved. Additionally, incoming freshman Chasson Randle also will join his Cardinal teammates on the trip, providing a valuable opportunity to establish chemistry early in the season.

Diving

Six past, present and future Stanford divers are headed to the AT&T U.S. Diving National Championships, starting Tuesday at UCLA. This will be the largest number of entrants ever for the diving program under head coach Dr. Rick Schavone.

Four men will compete, including incoming freshman Kristian Ipsen. He finished fourth at the FINA World Championships in the synchronized three-meter last month.

Ipsen also will dive in the three-meter individual event. Graduate Dwight Dumais will dive in the synchronized three-meter and on the one- and three-meter board. Pac-10 Freshman Diver of the Year Dhruv Tyagi will dive in the three-meter, as will classmate Noah Garcia.

On the women's side, alumnae Cassidy Krug will dive in the synchronized three-meter, and three-meter individual throughout the seven-day event, while Pac-10 Freshman Diver of the Year Stephanie Phipps will dive in the three-meter.

Dumais, Krug and Ipsen have all competed previously at the senior championships.

Football

Single-game tickets for the 2011 Stanford football season are now available for purchase at the Stanford Athletics Ticket Office, on-line at GoStanford.com or over the phone by calling 1-800-STANFORD.

The Stanford Athletics Ticket Office is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Sailing

Clinton Hayes, the interim head coach of the national champion Rhode Island women's sailing team, has been hired as Stanford's assistant coach.

Hayes was the interim head coach at Rhode Island this past spring, leading the Rams to the women's national title. It was the Ram's first win since 1976. In the fall, he served as an assistant at his alma mater, the University of Vermont.

Track and field

Stanford's Amaechi Morton is both smart and talented. On Wednesday he was named on the Outdoor Track Scholar Athlete of the Year in Division I for the 2011 men's track & field seasons by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).

Morton was also joined by 10 of his teammates who were named to the USTFCCCA All-Academic Team. The Cardinal representatives were among the group that represents collegiate track & field's best in both athletics and academics.

Morton, a junior from Atlanta, Ga., was the nation's runner-up in the 400-meter intermediate hurdles at the NCAA outdoor championships. He has a 3.30 cumulative GPA through the 2011 spring term, while majoring in science technology.

Morton is now a four-time All-American at Stanford and the school recordholder in the 400 IH and the open 400 meters during the indoor season. He has progressed into one of the top 400 hurdlers in the world, currently ranking 18th on the IAFF World List for the 2011 season. Morton will be the top returning 400 hurdler for the 2012 NCAA season.

Morton joins Chris Derrick as the second Stanford athlete to be honored by the USTFCCCA as a National Scholar Athlete of the Year this season. Derrick was named the national winner for the cross-country season.